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DETROIT (1/29/2013) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team has officially started practice sessions meaning the 2013 season is underway as the team began bright and early at 6:00 a.m., this morning in Fraser, Michigan.

It has begun.

2013 marks the fifth year of the women's lacrosse program at UDM and the Titans are now having weekday practice sessions every morning at the Total Soccer Indoor Facility in Fraser.

“With our first game approaching, we are ready for practice,” said senior defender Britany Busch. “The work that we put in the fall and in the preseason has given us a great foundation to build for the season.”

The 6:00 a.m., practice time comes a little early, but with class schedules, it is the only time that works for everyone on the team. The first day was supposed to be on Monday (1/28), but with the icy road conditions, the start date was pushed back to this morning.

“The first practice, you feel like it's going to be really exciting and you expect it too, but our energy was up. It was 5 a.m., and it makes me real excited for the season,” said sophomore defender Amanda Guthrie.

“I thought it went well. They were pretty focused and pretty intense and we got through a lot,” said the 2012 National Lacrosse Conference (NLC) Coach of the Year Laura Maness, who enters her second season at UDM. “I don't think anything really stood out for the first day of practice, but they were more intense than what I expected and we were going at IT full speed which is a great sign.”

The first game of the season, just 18 days away, for the Titans will be on Saturday, February 16, in Moon Township, Pa., against the Robert Morris Colonials. The 2013 campaign also marks the first year the Titans will be in the Atlantic Sun Conference after competing in the NLC the last four years. The move to the A-Sun comes with an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament for the winner of the Atlantic Sun conference championship.
 
The upcoming season will also be the first following the graduation of the first ever-four year senior class for UDM women's lacrosse. Losing seniors Anna Eidem, Emily Boissonneault, Corina Mahorn, and Alycsa Valentine will be quite the task for the Titans to overcome. Eidem led the nation in goals per game last season at 4.24 per game and had 72 overall. Boissonneault ended her career with 242 goals and 272 career points, both school records. Mahorn totaled 135 career points over four years, while Valentine was the ultimate team player grabbing 33 career ground balls and filling in any role as needed by the coaching staff, including at goalie.

This year's team features eight freshmen and nine newcomers on a roster of 20 players that also includes seven upperclassmen. Four seniors will be looked upon to lead the young squad that gained a wealth of experience in last year's run to the NLC Semifinals, and finished with a program-record eight wins on the season.

“We just need to continue to put in the work over the next couple of weeks at practice and get everyone on the same page in terms of the offense and defense. The upperclassmen have definitely stepped up to fill the shoes of the seniors last year and it's really exciting to see us come together and play as a team,” said Busch.

Seniors Megan Callahan and Zaynib Hamze were selected as the team captains on Jan. 14.  

“It was a downer not being able to practice yesterday, but I think our captains and upperclassmen started getting us into it today, pumping us up and you could see that. That energy needs to be there for us this year,” added Guthrie.
 
The Atlantic Sun has already seen one game in the books this sesaon as the A-Sun preseason favorite Jacksonville fell to the No. 1 ranked team from Syracuse by a 21-8 score on Jan. 13.

Keep checking DetroitTitans.com before the season starts for an upcoming preview of the 2013 UDM women's lacrosse team.